High School Graduates’ Education and Employment Outcomes

Three years after high school graduation, 55 percent of public high school graduates were enrolled in postsecondary education, and 70 percent were employed.

The National Center for Education Statistics has released a set of 24 web tables. The tables examine the education and work outcomes of 2013 public high school graduates 3 years after graduation, with a focus on students who had different levels of participation in career and technical education (CTE) during high school. 

Key findings include:

• Overall, 78 percent of graduates had ever enrolled in postsecondary education within 3 years of graduation, and 90 percent had ever worked. This 3-year postsecondary enrollment rate was 83 percent for students who earned less than 1 CTE credit, 79 percent for those who earned 1.00-2.99 CTE credits, and 75 percent for those who earned 3 or more CTE credits.
• As of 2013, 81 percent of graduates were in the labor force (working or looking for work). The labor force participation rate was 81 percent for graduates who earned less than 1 CTE credit, 80 percent for those who earned 1.00-2.99 CTE credits, and 83 percent for those who earned more than 3 CTE credits.

These tables use data from the High School Longitudinal Study of 2009 (HSLS:09) and its 2013 high school transcript collection and 2016 second follow-up.